


Begin Again

by angsty_nerd



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Echo3Days2020, F/M, what if...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25091779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angsty_nerd/pseuds/angsty_nerd
Summary: Written for 3 Days of Echo 2020.  What if Max had told Liz the truth back in 2008 before she left town?
Relationships: Max Evans/Liz Ortecho
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

“ _The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple_.” ~Oscar Wilde

**Part 1**

  
~*~*~*~ May 2018 ~*~*~*~

There was a whole lot of nothing between Denver and Roswell. Which is why Liz didn't even hesitate making the drive the dark.

She'd done it in the daylight before. Highway 285 in northern New Mexico was like: empty field, cows, more empty fields, ooooh a slight hill, and some more cows. She really wasn't missing anything, leaving Denver around lunchtime for the 10 hour drive home.

At least, that's what she told herself was her reason. It definitely wasn't at all motivated by fleeing from her engagement without facing Diego. She just happened to leave without saying goodbye while he was still at work. Since, you know, unlike her, he was working since his research was still funded.

Liz hated feeling resentment over his success, but it was hard to not be bitter about her situation. As if it wasn't insult enough that her grant money was pulled right when she was seeking approval from the ethics board to move to human trials… No, they had to pull her funding to build a racist president's vanity project between her home country and her family’s heritage. Money that should have allowed a daughter of immigrants to make the world a better place would instead go towards furthering xenophobia and hatred. It was disgusting.

And now, instead of changing the world, she was headed home to Roswell...her small hometown, full of small tragedies, and small people. People that she hadn't planned to ever see again.

It was dark and empty on the road when she made her way past the city limit sign. But then she came around a bend, and was overwhelmed by bright spotlights and flashing red and blue police lights. A yellow sign announced a sobriety checkpoint. A sheriff's deputy waved the pickup trucks and minivans slowly through the cones. Some movement off to the side caught her eye. An ICE van was pulled over beside the road, and an agent was loading up a Mexican man in cuffs into the vehicle. She barely had time to react before the deputy signaled for her to stop.

"You have got to be kidding me." She groaned. She hit the button to open her window and started chewing out the cop as she fished around in her bag for her passport. 

The last thing she expected was for that Deputy to be Max Evans. Out of every single person that she had left behind ten years earlier, he was the person she had the most complicated feelings towards, and all of those feelings came rushing back at the sight of him. She murmurs his name, while staring into his stunned eyes, shadowed beneath the bill of his white cowboy hat.

She was still attracted to him, her stomach immediately tying into knots. The decade had only helped him on that front. Maturity had only improved him, like a fine red wine. She still felt drawn to him, craving the kiss that they never shared. 

But at the same time, betrayal and anger filled her, and a little bit of fear. The secrets that he told her were the final straw that sent her running from Roswell ten years earlier. She was so overwhelmed by them that she didn't even stick around for graduation or her sister's funeral. She ran to escape the burden of the things he told her.

So of course he was the first person she saw when she got back to town.

Distantly she realized Sheriff Valenti had joined him at her window. Max backed away, ducking his head shyly as the Sheriff told her about the impending high school reunion before letting her through. Liz felt dazed as she shifted her car back into drive and continued her way home.

But she was shook by the whole experience. 

The entire 10 hour drive, never once did Max Evans cross her mind. She hadn't prepared herself for seeing him again. Ten years of running from the things she knew, and now she was forced to face them, head on. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out how she should handle their next encounter...and remembered the last time she saw his face.

~*~*~*~ June 2008 ~*~*~*~

Liz shivered, the night air stinging her tear-soaked cheeks, but she wasn't ready to seek refuge yet. She wrapped her arms around her body and tried to fight the cold away. 

The lights from the Crashdown were flickering, casting red and green light across the grass between her home and the gazebo. Inside, her dad was crying. Her mom had arrived from wherever she was hiding out earlier that afternoon. Liz's major life events were never enough to bring Helena back to Roswell. What did prom or graduation matter, after all? But Rosa dies and she comes running. Liz tried to push the bitterness away, but it was impossible. She would never be enough for her mother. 

The thought made her gasp for breath and cry harder. As much as she wanted to not care, it was just one more thing stacked on top of everything else. Work, school, her mother's betrayal, Rosa's instability, breaking up with Kyle, leaving her friends behind, starting college, and now Rosa was dead. And it was all just too much.

"Liz…"

Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice, and she turned to see him standing just outside of the gazebo, shifting his weight awkwardly back and forth.

"Max…" Her voice was hoarse and strained from all the crying.

"I'd ask if you were okay...but I know you're not. Do you want me to leave you alone?"

Liz thought about it for a moment, and then gestured for him to join her. She didn't know what it was about Max. She was hiding out in the gazebo because she thought she needed to get away from people, but something about Max made her feel so much calmer, more settled. Even now, she felt the tears on her cheeks beginning to dry.

He didn't say anything. Just sat down beside her and offered her a hand, which she took gratefully, clinging to the comfort of his presence beside her.

"Thank you," Liz broke the silence.

"For what?"

"It's just...everything is falling apart around me, and then...I dunno, Max. You make me feel safe."

Max stiffened beside her, dropping her hand. 

"I shouldn't."

~*~*~*~ May 2018 ~*~*~*~

The jukebox in her father's diner was like an old steady friend. It had never been updated, and she and Rosa both knew every song by heart. She didn't even have to look at the song list anymore. She just ran her fingers over the keys and pressed the old familiar numbers. The opening notes of her favorite song were like a soothing balm on her otherwise shattered life. As the familiar beat filled her, she couldn't help bouncing along to the music, until she started dancing her way through the familiar task of cleaning up the restaurant for the night. 

It was all so natural to her. It was hard for her to even fathom that just hours earlier she had woken up in bed with Diego, in Denver. That life already felt like ancient history.

A cough startled her, and she staggered out of her dance. Turning, she froze, stunned to see Max standing behind her in the doorway. How long had he been there?

"Hi," he greeted her sheepishly. "Sorry, I know you're closed. I just came to tell you your left front running light is out. You peeled out before I could say anything, but that's why I stopped you. I'm not one of the bad guys, Liz."

Liz nodded silently, still trying to process his appearance. He had lost the cowboy hat, so she could get a better look at his face. He had a few days of scruff showing, like he couldn't really be bothered to shave. His hair was rumpled, the flattened sides confirming that he'd been wearing his hat all day until now, which made sense given the uniform. And his eyes… he looked tired, but the look was soft, hopeful. He looked like he was glad to see her. She still wasn't quite sure how she felt about it.

"Look, I know you just got home, and you probably want to spend time with your dad, but, I was kind of hoping we could...talk."

Liz nodded. "It's late. My dad's already in bed for the night. We can talk while I clean up. Want a milkshake?"

"Nah, I'm good," Max declined. "Next time." He watched silently as she collected the dishes from a table and took them to the bar. She should feel uncomfortable, being examined by him like this, but that's how it had always been with Max. No matter how many times her brain told her that she shouldn't be, somehow, she just felt comfortable around him.

"So, where've you been?"

"Denver. Working on an experimental regenerative medicine study. We were on to something special, but of course we lost funding because someone needs money for a wall. So here I am. Wearing antennae. While talking to an actual alien. I’m assuming that’s what you really want to talk about, so maybe you should say whatever you came here to say, Max.”

"Yeah. Liz… I…"

Max was cut off, as gunfire suddenly erupted. Liz felt a sharp pain in her chest, and then everything went dark.

~*~*~*~ June 2008 ~*~*~*~

Max pulled away from Liz and stood, stepping away from her. Liz furrowed her brow, confused by the sudden change in his behavior. She had only told him that being around him stabilized her in the middle of all of her life's chaos. Max didn't seem like the type to be chased off by honest emotions.

"What is it, Max? Talk to me."

He turned his back on her. She could see the tightness in his shoulders, like he was preparing himself for something difficult.

"I've been trying to figure out how to tell you this after everything that's happened. I've thought about telling you a thousand times, but I just… I never thought it would be like this."

"I don't understand."

He finally looked at her again, a haunted look in his eyes. 

"Liz, I'm… I'm a survivor of the 1947 crash. I'm an alien."

"No." Liz shook her head trying to process what he was saying. Nothing about it made any sense. "You can't be. You're 17."

"We were somehow kept in stasis for 50 years, in these pods. I could show you if you want. When we came out of them, in 1997, we looked like normal 7 year olds. We were found wandering in the desert, naked and mute. No one ever suspected that we were anything other than abandoned kids. The Evans adopted us, and we learned English, and then they started sending us to school, which is when I met you. I know it sounds crazy."

"Crazy? It sounds insane."

"It's true. I swear it."

"Why are you telling me this, Max?"

"I've always wanted to tell you. Only you. I dunno...I guess I just always thought you'd understand. I've always been terrified of anyone finding out about us. Figured if they did I'd end up being dissected in a lab somewhere. But you're just...you're different, Liz."

He paused, studying his feet awkwardly, before meeting her eyes again and pushing forward.

"But it's more than that, Liz. I'm so sorry, but…Rosa was killed by an alien. I don't know why or how. She was already dead by the time I got there. I was...I was just so scared of getting caught. So I...I covered it up, Liz. I staged the car crash. I'm so sorry."

Liz was stunned into silence. She had no idea what to say or do. Her eyes stung as the tears tried to break free and she desperately tried to blink them back. She didn't want Max to see her crying. She kept her face like steel as she tried to figure out how to respond.

Max just nervously filled the silence.

"It's been ripping me up, Liz. But she was already gone. I'm sure of it. And if we went to the police or our parents, we'd be exposed, and then I'd be as good as dead too. My life was on the line. I absolutely hate that this happened and I just...I thought you deserved to know the truth."

"Please stop." Liz gestured wildly at him, and Max fell silent. "I don't...I can't… this is just a lot, Max. I need...I think I need some time to process."

"Yeah. Of course… just, Liz? Are you gonna…"

"I don't know." Liz cut him off. " I don't know what I'm gonna do Max. Just...give me some time to think."

She hurries away from him, across the Plaza towards the flashing lights that signaled home for her. She hurried into the diner, past her parents, and up to her room. 

The next morning, she loaded everything she wanted to keep for her new life into the back of the used SUV. She had just bought it a few days earlier to replace the wrecked car that she and Rosa used to share. It was still dawn when she said goodbye to her parents and took off on her pre-college road trip. 

~*~*~*~ May 2018 ~*~*~*~

Liz gasped, air filling her lungs as she sat straight up. 

“I was shot!” She cried. “I was shot!” Even through her panic, she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and could hear Max’s soothing voice as he tried to calm her.

“It’s okay, I’m here. You’re okay.”

“You saved me.” Liz gaped. The bloodstain on the front of her uniform was sticky, bright red, and directly over her heart. “I would have died if you weren’t here. If you weren't...you."

“It's okay. I've got you. You’re gonna be okay, right?” He looked so afraid, worried, as he waited for an answer. Liz slid one hand into the front of her uniform, running her fingers over the unblemished skin over her heart.

“Yeah.” Liz agreed. “I’m gonna be fine. But Max… you… you used alien powers to save me. You risked everything for me. Thank you.”


	2. Chapter 2

  
~*~*~*~ May 2018 ~*~*~*~

About 24 hours later, Max's handprint showed up on her chest. Liz didn't really know what to make of it. Her skin felt normal to the touch, but it shimmered, a bright multicolored array, as she ran her fingers over it. She studied it in the mirror, lightly tracing her finger around the edges of each of Max's fingers.

The analytical side of her brain took over. Clearly this was a result of whatever Max did to heal her, but was there more to it than that? Was there a response in her body's chemistry that caused the handprint to form? Or was it all Max's doing? Did he do it on purpose, branding her like she belonged to him or something, or was it simply an accident?

Wanting to know more, Liz tried to take a cell sample from her skin, but it didn't seem to work. When she stuck the slide under her microscope, the typical array of cells that she’d normally see from a skin or cheek swab wasn’t there. It was as if the handprint was a separate layer protecting the healed cells underneath.

She wanted to know more. Directly from the source, preferably. So she got dressed to go looking for Max. She didn't have to go far. She barely made it out of the Crashdown doors when she heard him call her name.

"Liz. I was looking for you."

"Max. I have questions for you."

Max nodded. "Want to take a drive?" 

“Let’s go.”

Max drove them straight out of town and into the desert. Liz stayed silent for the drive, staring off at the horizon as she tried to make a plan, cataloguing all of the things she wanted to ask him. He pulled off the main highway onto a remote, bumpy side road, and eventually took another turn onto what seemed almost a glorified dirt path. Eventually, he pulled over at an outcropping littered with old mining debris.

He turned off his engine and turned to face her.

“We’re here.”

“Where’s here?”

“There’s something I want to show you. Come on.”

He led her up a pathway towards an old, boarded up mine. Liz watched as he pried the boards off, pulling a flashlight out of his back pocket, and leading her into the darkness.

Liz felt slightly nauseous from the combination of nervous energy and a little bit of fear. She didn’t really understand why. She had never been afraid of Max before. Then again, Max had also never taken her into a dangerous, unstable, boarded up cave before either.

“Any indication that you’re not going to murder me and bury my body six feet below the desert would be great.”

“If I wanted you dead, I could have just, you know, not saved your life the other night.” He responded dryly.

“Fair point.”

The narrow cave opened up into an enormous cavern, lit dimly by an unearthly blueish glow. The light emanated from three giant eggs, sitting in the middle of the large space. Liz’s jaw dropped at the sight of them. 

“Max...what…” she struggled to even form a complete sentence as walked up to the closest one, lightly running her hand over the surface.

“These are our stasis pods. We think they’re what kept us safe during the crash. This is where we were hidden away for 50 years.”

“There’s three of them.” Liz noted, turning to Max quizzically. “You always use ‘we’ when you tell me about being an alien. I just assumed you were talking about you and Isobel.”

“Michael is too.”

Liz nodded, suddenly understanding. “I used to wonder how you two got to be such close friends. You’re so different.”

“We’re not so close anymore,” Max admitted. “But he is my family… my brother, really. I’d do anything for him. And Isobel too.”

A thought occurred to Liz suddenly. “That’s why you covered up my sister’s murder. Because one of them killed her.”

“Yes.” Max confirmed. “I told you back then that I was trying to save my life, but that fear was only part of it. I was trying to protect my family. As much as the idea of getting cut up in a lab scares me, I’d turn myself in without a moment’s hesitation if I knew it would protect them.”

“So you destroyed my family. To save yours.”

“That was the worst night of my life, Liz. What we did to Rosa...it’s the worst thing I’ve ever done. It’s been a decade and I have spent every single day trying to make up for that one mistake. That’s why I’m a cop. I wanted to help people, to protect the innocent. I wanted to make sure that nothing like what we did to Rosa ever happens again.”

Max gestured to lead her back outside, and Liz followed, her head spinning. 

The sun was getting lower in the sky, as they made their way back down to Max's jeep. 

"Is that why you saved my life, Max?" Liz blurted out.

"What?" Max stared at her, dumbstruck.

"I mean, it would have been better for your family if you had just let me die, right? Then your secret’s protected. Did you only save me to assuage some lingering guilt over what you did to my sister?"

Max continued to silently stare at her. Something about his reaction just made her feel utterly confused. But at the same time she felt charmed by his cluelessness. She suddenly got distracted by his lips, which kept opening and closing as he tried to find the words to respond to her.

"Do you really not know, Liz?" He finally asked, shaking his head, as he took a step closer to her. 

She tilted her head, staring up into his eyes. They were burning with emotion in a way that made her stomach flip flop. She shouldn't feel this way about him. She couldn't fall for the guy...the alien...who covered up her sister's murder. She couldn’t have feelings for the person responsible for her family becoming a target of the vitriol of the racist cowboy majority of her hometown. 

Except that she had always been drawn to him like this. Back in high school, the day they danced together in the desert, when she first desperately wanted to kiss him. That draw felt even more powerful now. He had saved her life. She would be dead without him. There was a truth in his actions that she simply couldn't deny.

"Liz, I have loved you my entire life. Including every single day that you were gone in the last decade. If you hadn't run away, back in high school when I told you the truth, I would have followed you. Anywhere."

A surge of heat rushed through Liz's chest at his words. She stood, speechless as he smiled shyly at her. 

"I have to get to the reunion. It's important to Isobel. Come on, I'll drive you home."

He started to walk away, headed for the car, and that was just not acceptable to Liz in the moment. She reached out and grabbed his arm, and before he could even react, she tugged him towards her, reaching up to grasp his face in her hands, as she tiptoed up to press her lips to his.

Max froze, at first, stunned by her gesture. But as she moved her lips against his, reaching up to wrap her arms around his shoulders, he kissed her back with a hunger that made her head spin.

It was like an explosion of emotion inside her as they kissed. Love and desire and gratitude and confusion all surged through her and the heat of it almost knocked her over. She felt weak in the knees, so she fisted one hand in the back of his shirt to hold herself up, just in case her legs gave out.

Kissing Max Evans was a whole new world for her. How had she ever kissed anyone else, when she could have had this all her life? She felt lightheaded, overwhelmed, and it was only the need for oxygen that finally forced her to pull away. Max leaned his forehead against hers, and they just stood there, arms around each other, breathing heavily. 

Liz's head was still trying to clear when she noticed Max's eyes narrow and focus on something. He pulled one hand from her waist and carefully drew aside the neckline of her tank top, revealing his handprint on her skin.

Immediately, his other hand dropped and he took a step away from her.

"Max, what is it?" She asked breathlessly.

"Why didn't you tell me about the handprint, Liz?"

"I… I was going to. It's just, you brought me out here first and there were other things to discuss. I told you I had questions, and your handprint was at the top of my list."

"Liz, the handprint is a psychic bond between us. I was afraid it might happen, but you hadn't said anything, so I just assumed... I should have just asked you about it. I don’t know why it happens sometimes…. Have you been feeling off? Out of control emotionally?” 

Liz shook her head, shocked by his reaction.

“My feelings are probably affecting you right now. I...I never would have kissed you back if I had known. What you're feeling right now...it's just an echo of my feelings for you. I can't...I would never take advantage of that."

"Max, I kissed you."

"You shouldn't have."

"I don't regret it."

"You might later though. When the handprint wears off and you remember why you ran away from me all those years ago. I can't...I won't kiss you again until the mark is gone."

"How long will that take?"

"A week, maybe."

"Fine. I'll kiss you then. Then you’ll know that my feelings are real. Come on, let's get to the reunion."

~*~*~*~ June 2018 ~*~*~*~

It was late, and Liz knew she should be home in bed, but somehow she just found herself at the Frontier Valley Cemetery, jumping the gate, so that she could be with Rosa when the clock struck midnight. When it was officially the ten year anniversary of her death. 

Liz felt guilt-ridden. It had been a few days since she had kissed Max, but she still could remember the overwhelming rush of emotion she felt when their lips met. Was it the psychic bond that caused it? Liz wasn't sure. The handprint was still shimmering on her chest. 

She quickly dropped her hand. She had unconsciously been standing there, in front of Rosa’s grave, running her fingertips over the reflection of Max's touch on her skin. It was like an instinctive reaction. Her hand was drawn like a magnet to Max’s mark.

"I kissed Max Evans.” She softly admitted out loud. “I know I shouldn't have done it, Rosa. I know you wouldn't approve. But I still did it. And I want to do it again.” 

Liz placed the single red rose she brought for her sister onto her gravestone. 

“I know what he did to you. And I feel so guilty for having feelings for him. I know I should hate him, turn him in to the authorities, or the military, or something. But I don't think I can do that, Rosa. I think I've been ignoring the things I feel for him for a long time. And I don't know if I can ignore it anymore." Liz sighed heavily. "Even though I know you would hate this, I still wish you were here. I wish I could just call you and tell you all about it. I just… I really miss you, Rosa."

A flashlight reflected off of Rosa's face on her gravestone and Liz jumped, startled. She was even more shocked to see Max's face appear in the darkness behind the flashlight.

"Liz!" He exclaimed at the sight of her.

"Max…"

"Uh, this place closes at sunset."

"I jumped the gate." He nodded, and looked a little proud of her? Regardless, there had to be a reason for his appearance. "It's after midnight so it's officially the ten year anniversary of Rosa's death. So, uh… you gonna arrest me, officer?" She offered her wrists to him to cuff, and he just laughed.

"No. Too much paperwork."

"Do you always patrol the cemetery after dark?" Liz asked, curiously.

"Like you said, it's the ten year anniversary of Rosa's death. Just keeping an eye out for trouble. Can I drive you home?”

Liz nodded and followed him back to his patrol car. They drove in relative silence, Liz deep in thought about her sister, wondering who Rosa would be today, and what she would think of Liz’s recent choices. When Max pulled up to the curb in front of the Crashdown, Liz didn’t feel ready to say goodbye yet. 

As Max shifted the car into park, Liz slid her hand over his knuckles on the gear shift. She felt him stiffen beside her at the touch and his eyes closed, like he was savoring her light touch. He slid his hand free and laced his fingers through hers. 

“Liz…” his voice was deep, gravely. The desire that flowed from her name on his lips sent a shiver down her spine. Or was it the echo of his feelings slipping through the handprint bond that she was feeling? She didn’t fully understand it. Her feelings felt like her own. 

“I really want to kiss you again.” She told him, because it was all she could think of all of a sudden.

He dropped her hand like her words burned.

“Liz, I told you, I can’t.”

“You say that your feelings are influencing mine, but what I’m feeling seems pretty real to me. I wanted to kiss you in high school too… that day when you drove me out to the desert. I just stopped myself because I knew I was leaving and it wasn’t fair to you.”

“And if I’m right and this...connection...is influencing you right now… taking advantage of that isn’t fair to you, Liz. And I love you too much to allow myself to mess this up before it’s even started. Please, Liz… just wait for the handprint to fade and let’s see how you feel then.”

Liz pulled the neckline of her shirt aside to show him the handprint. 

“It’s fading fast, Max. I think it’ll be gone tomorrow.”

“Then let’s talk about this again tomorrow.”

Liz nodded and reached for the door handle. “Goodnight, Max.”

“Goodnight, Liz.”


	3. Chapter 3

~*~*~*~ June 2018 ~*~*~*~

"Hey, got your message. Are you okay?"

Liz looked up to see Max walking in from the back of the church. She stopped and watched him approach, a soft look of concern on his face.

"You know this place used to bring me comfort? I loved science and facts but I believed in something bigger. I don't anymore." Liz furrowed her brow and studied Max's face. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know if he was religious. "Do you believe in God?"

Max gestured to the pew beside them and they both sat.

"I have read a lot of religious texts. Like, all of them. The stories don't generally end well for guys like me. Men who work miracles with their hands tend to die bloody."

"Your hands. That's why I wanted you to meet me." Liz reached out and took Max's hands in hers, threading their fingers and gently squeezing them affectionately. "Max...I've been thinking about Rosa all day. And no matter how hard I try not to, there's this question that I just can't shake."

"You can ask me anything, Liz."

"Why did you save me and not her, Max? I know you said your feelings for me drove you to save my life...but if you can...if you can heal with your hands, why couldn't you try to save my sister too?"

Tears prickled at Liz's eyes as the question that had been plaguing her, not just all day, but all week since Max had saved her life, finally fell from her lips. 

Max just stared at her, aghast at the question.

"Liz, I did try to save her. Do you know how much easier things would be if I had succeeded? I…I still remember what it felt like, trying to heal her. Failing… It's the only time I ever tried to heal someone and couldn't. I still don't know why. Maybe because alien powers killed her. I dunno."

Tears slipped down Liz's cheeks. She sniffled, and Max just looked distraught as he watched her cry. 

"I'm so sorry, Liz. I… I really don't think it'll help, but… I can show you. If you want."

"You can...what?" Liz didn't understand what he was suggesting.

"I can show you my memory from when I tried to bring her back. Using the psychic connection. It… it wasn't pretty though, Liz. I don't want to show you unless you're really sure you can handle seeing her...like that."

Liz steeled herself. Dropping Max's hands, she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Show me." 

Max nodded. "I have to use the handprint. Can I touch you?"

"Do it."

Hands trembling ever so slightly, Max reached out and gently slipped his hand under the neckline of her shirt, carefully positioning it in line with the handprint over her heart. He made eye contact with her. Silently his eyes asked if she was sure. Liz nodded, urging him on. 

He closed his eyes and focused and it was the strangest sensation. Physically, Liz could tell that they were still sitting together in the church, Max's hand on her chest. She reached up and placed her hand over his, to try to center herself physically. 

But mentally… mentally she was suddenly in the old turquoise mind where the stoners and the punks used to hang out in high school. She could see the fresh graffiti on the walls. And there was Rosa, lying lifelessly on the floor.

She could feel the terror filling Max at the sight of her as he knelt beside her, checking her pulse and confirming that she was gone. That night his hand trembled violently as he reached out and placed it on Rosa's chest, screaming from the effort of trying to push the life back into her. Nothing happened, so he paused to catch his breath and then he tried again.   


Liz could taste his tears, dripping down his cheeks to the corners of his mouth, as he screamed and tried a third time. It was the nausea that finally stopped him. He turned and threw up the contents of his stomach, bile and the cheap beer that he drank in the desert with Liz forcing its way out of his stomach. The thought of Liz gave him a hidden reservoir of strength, so he turned back to Rosa's body and tried one last time to heal her, his hand pressed to her cooling skin as he screamed in agony from the effort of trying to wake her from the sleep of death. Nothing happened. He forced himself to stop, only because he was certain that he would pass out if he tried again. And his family needed him. 

_ Why can't you heal her, Max? We gotta do something! _

_ I don't know! I've never brought anyone back from the dead before! I'm not strong enough! _

The memory faded and Liz found her eyes trained on Max's pained face, sitting across from her in the church.

"Thank you," Liz whispered, leaning forward to hug him. 

"Please don't," Max responded softly, stopping her mid motion. "I failed you that day. And then I made it worse. I put her in the driver's seat. It's my fault that everyone thinks Rosa killed those other girls. I did more harm than good that day."

"But first you tried to bring her back to me."

"I would do anything to bring her back for you, Liz. Your sister didn't deserve to die that night."

"That was so strange," Liz murmured. She looked down at his hands, his incredible hands. "It wasn't like watching a movie of your memories. I didn't just see what you saw. I...felt what you felt." Liz met his eyes, right as another year slipped down her cheek. "I could feel how terrified you were. I… I felt her skin under your hands." Liz took his hands again.

"I felt what it was like when you tried to heal her. The effort… and the pain. The nausea. Max, healing is so hard for you. And you just kept trying. For me." One hand gravitated up to his cheek, which she gently stroked. "Thank you."

For a brief moment Liz wondered what he would do if she tried to kiss him again, but before she could do so, his police radio crackled, breaking through the headiness of the moment.

"Uh, Evans, if you're done praying, or whatever, I've got a 20 on Wyatt Long. Care to serve and protect?"

"I should go," Max told her gently. He collected his hat and stood to leave.

"Max, wait…"

He turned back to look at her as he put on his white hat.

"Will you meet me tomorrow morning at sunrise? By the old turquoise mines? I think the mark will be gone by then, and I want to start a new day. Tomorrow. With you."

Max ducked his head shyly, looking at the ground awkwardly, before meeting her gaze again.

"Are you sure, Liz? I just don't understand why you'd want anything to do with me."

"Maybe I can prove it to you at sunrise. If you come."

Max nodded and headed down the aisle. He opened the door and paused, the sunlight framing him in the doorway as he looked back at Liz.

"I'll see you at sunrise." 

~*~*~*~ May 2018 ~*~*~*~

Liz gasped, air filling her lungs as she sat straight up. 

“I was shot!” She cried. “I was shot!”

“It’s okay, I’m here. You’re okay.” Max's voice soothed her panic just enough that she was able to clear her head and process what had just happened.

“You saved me.” Liz gaped. The bloodstain on the front of her uniform was sticky, bright red, and directly over her heart. “I would have died if you weren’t here. If you weren't...you."

“It's okay. I've got you. You’re gonna be okay, right?” He looked so afraid, worried, as he waited for an answer. Liz slid one hand into the front of her uniform, running bloody fingers over the unblemished skin over her heart.

“Yeah.” Liz agreed. “I’m gonna be fine. But Max… you… you used alien powers to save me. You risked everything for me. Thank you.”

She studied his face and realized he looked exhausted, worn, frightened. He pulled out his radio and pushed himself to his feet. 

"I should…"

"Stay. Please." 

Max nodded and instead of chasing after the shooter he called it in on his radio. "Shots fired at the Crashdown Cafe. Perp is on the loose. Send backup."

Then, he dropped the radio and buckled over in pain. 

"Max!" Liz exclaimed, but he turned away from her and reached for the bin she had been collecting the dirty dishes into. Gagging, he threw up into the bin. Once his stomach was empty, he dropped into the closest chair.

"I'm sorry." He groaned. "It's just… healing is hard on me. I just… I need…"

He trailed off, wincing in pain and dropping his head in his hands.

"Talk to me Max. What do you need."

"I know this is gonna sound crazy, but do you have any nail polish remover?"

"Of course. Upstairs. I'll go get it."

Liz stood and hurried towards the back stairs. She paused in the doorway, and looked back at Max.

"You'd better be here when I come back."

Max chuckled weakly. "I will be. Promise."

Liz hurries up the stairs and into her family's apartment. She met her father at the top of the stairs.

"What's going on? Is that blood?"

"No! I'm fine, Papi. Someone shot at the cafe. No one was hurt. Max Evans was downstairs with me. He's called for backup."

"¡ _ Dios Mio, mija _ ! Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Papi. You should call the insurance company."

Liz hurried into her room and quickly pulled off her uniform, changing into a fresh turquoise dress, just in case. She pulled a sweater on over it, and then hurried to the bathroom to get the nail polish remover.

When she got back downstairs, Max was in the kitchen, leaning heavily against the sink, as he rinsed his vomit out of the dish basin.

"Max, you didn't need to do that. I can handle the clean up." She handed him the plastic bottle and was shocked to see him twist the cap off and chug the entire bottle down. She was staring at him, eyes wide and slackjawed, as he casually tossed the bottle into the trash can. 

"Thank you. We, uh… we should clean the blood before Sheriff Valenti arrives. It should be okay to just wipe it up for now. If she doesn't see it, they won't go looking for it." Max picked up a towel hanging over the edge of the sink. "But you'll want to bleach it later, Liz."

Liz nodded. "I will. But, Max… what…" 

"The acetone?" Max asked. "Yeah, it's like a painkiller or an energy drink or something for me. If I'm feeling beat up, or injured, or whatever, it helps me feel better."

"Acetone? Really?" Liz asked, as she followed Max back into the dining area, where he quickly wiped up the blood spots on the floor by the bar. "That's fascinating, Max. Trace amounts sometimes help with growth and regeneration in some plants, but I mean, I've never heard of it doing anything similar with people. One of these days you're gonna have to let me look at your cells, see what's different about them from human cells."

Max passed the towel back to Liz, who shoved it in her apron pocket. Max opened his mouth to respond, but before he could the front door opened and Sheriff Valenti walked in.

"Report, Evans?" She asked, and Max quickly went into deputy mode, briefing his boss on the shooting. Liz sat at the bar and watched him work, her mind spinning as she wondered what secrets were hidden in Max's alien biology.

~*~*~*~ June 2018 ~*~*~*~

The sky was pale, the sun still hidden behind the hills, as Liz got out of her SUV and approached Max in the cool morning air.

He was wearing a light blue button down shirt, his hair flopping awkwardly over his face. It distracted her momentarily, but didn't hide the fact that he had a bruised cheek that wasn't there the last time she saw him. Liz wondered what happened.

Max turned and saw her, breathing her name out. She silently approached him. Reaching up, she pushed his hair back off his face and stroked his cheek beneath the bruising. Her Papi had told her about Max saving him from Wyatt Long and patching him up the evening before.

"What happened here, Max? Did Wyatt Long and his friends do this to you? My father has a matching set."

"It's fine Liz. I'm glad I was there."

"So Wyatt Long shot me? For revenge because he thinks Rosa killed his sister."

"Not revenge. Racism. Guys like that… listen, I don't want to talk about him. I have to tell you something. Ever since I healed you, I've felt wrong. Like there's a tornado inside of me, and I can't fight it, I can't run from it...except when I'm with you. Being around you, Liz… it's like you center me, stabilize me. It's like this darkness would devour me, but you're anchoring me to the light."

His hair had fallen back into his eyes, so Liz pushed it back again. 

"You know, it's funny, Max. I've spent so much of the last decade angry. Angry that Rosa was killed. Angry with my Mom for abandoning me. Disillusioned by what it takes to make real scientific progress in this world, when politics always shut me down before I can do anything truly special. But, somehow, when I'm with you, it's like it just fades away. I guess what I'm saying is...you anchor me too, Max."

"The mark?" Max asked, hesitantly. Liz shook her head at him. It was clear in his voice that he thought his handprint was still influencing her. She pulled the neckline of her shirt aside to show him her skin.

"Gone." She confirmed. "And yes, Max. I still want to kiss you."

"Oh thank God," Max smiled broadly, his hands gravitating to her hips, as he pulled her in closer to him and brought his lips down onto hers. Liz grinned and responded with a hunger that surprised even her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt the heat of the breaking dawn shining across their faces as they kissed. 

This time there wasn't an emotional overload. She didn't feel like she needed to grab on to him to stay upright, to keep her head above water. Distantly she acknowledged that Max was probably right. The overwhelming rush of their last kiss probably had been due to the psychic bond. But it didn't make this kiss any less perfect.

As their lips danced, Liz had an epiphany that all of these years, every time she ever ran from a guy, it was her heart's way of telling her that they weren't Max. That her heart was waiting for him all of these years. Their past mistakes died in the darkness of the 10 year anniversary of the worst day in both their lives. The dawn was like a rebirth, allowing them to begin again, to stand side by side as they forged a new partnership...a forever bond.


End file.
